Bar blast suspect denies charges before DOJ

MANILA, Philippines - The primary suspect in a grenade attack that marred the conclusion of the Bar examinations in September last year appeared for the first time at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday and denied the criminal charges filed against him by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Anthony Nepomuceno, a member of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity, submitted to the DOJ his counter-affidavit and denied the allegation that he had lobbed a grenade into a crowd greeting Bar examinees, injuring 50 persons.

Assisted by lawyers provided by his fraternity, he said the charges of multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder against him were “very grave ones” that he “could never (had) committed.”

Nepomuceno claimed he was at their house in Marikina City at the time when the incident in front of De La Salle University in Taft Avenue took place. He said he even saw a breaking news report on TV about the incident in their house.

To prove this, he submitted corroborative testimonies of his mother Ma. Luisa, sister Antoniette, fraternity member Lee Merck Mira and officemate Alma Liquiran.

The suspect has contested the testimony of NBI’s supposed eyewitness that he was beaten up by other witnesses after he was cornered while trying to flee from the scene, which resulted in contusions on his face.

“I did not have any injury or contusion at any time during the material dates. Indeed, if I were the bomb thrower, I could not, under the circumstances, have reported for work the following day. In fact, I continued working at my office up to Oct. 19, 2010,” he said.

He also said the NBI’s cartographic sketch presented to the media was merely copied from photos posted on his Facebook account.

Nepomuceno believes that he was just presented by the bureau as a suspect purportedly “for the convenience of showing that the assailant is now brought to justice.”

He then asked the DOJ fact-finding panel to dismiss the criminal complaint the NBI lodged against him.